Exclusive Dish: Flavors Restaurant’s Cantaloupe Soup


Cantaloupe ranks among the most refreshing and accessible summertime fruits. Low in calories and lusciously rich in flavor, the orange melon deserves conspicuous space at the table.

At Wake Technical Community College’s Flavors Restaurant, the distinctive cantaloupe melon soup with lime granite makes for an intriguing first-course offering.

“The cold melon soup is a popular choice of our guests,” said Fredi Morf, a culinary instructor at Wake Tech. “It does, however, depend on the weather a bit. We will definitely sell more of the cold soup on a hot, sunny day than we will on a cool, rainy day.”

Morf said Flavors purchases most of its fruit and vegetables from local purveyor Ford’s Produce Co., located at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh.

As for the recipe, here are a few helpful tips Morf passed along for consideration:

“The cornstarch slurry can be left out to make it a little simpler. However, the pulp will separate out from the liquid after a while. The seasoning can be adjusted to one’s liking.”

Cantaloupe Melon Soup with Lime Granite
Modified from cooking textbook Garde
Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen, The Culinary Institute of America
Yield: 1 gallon

3 pounds diced ripe cantaloupe melon (about 1½ melons)
4 oranges, juiced, and 2 tablespoons zest
3 lemons, juiced, and 2 tablespoons zest
2½ tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar, to taste, pinch of salt
1½ quarts sparkling water
Melon balls or dices as a garnish, as desired
Lemon balm cut into chiffonade (cut into fine ribbons), as desired
1 quart of lime granite (recipe follows)

Puree the melon in a blender. Bring lemon juice, orange juice and zests to a boil. Add a little bit of water to the cornstarch to make a slurry. Stir slurry into juice mixture.

Bring to a quick simmer, then pull off the heat. (Stir well; it gets quite thick.) Cool this mixture to room temperature and then mix it with the pureed melon.

Add sugar to slightly sweeten the soup (Remember: This is a soup, not a dessert.) Season soup with a pinch of salt. Stir in sparkling water and re-check seasoning.

Place soup in a bowl. Garnish with lime granite, melon ball garnish and chiffonade of lemon balm.

Lime Granite
Yield: 1 quart

1 quart water
2 cups sugar
4 limes, zest removed with a Microplane, and the juice of the limes

Combine all ingredients in a shallow pan. Freeze the mixture, stirring every 20 minutes, until no more liquid remains. Place it in a container and keep frozen until needed.

Flavors Restaurant

waketech.edu/flavors

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